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| Director
: |
Martin Campbell
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| Starring
: |
Antonio Banderas, Catherine
Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell |
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| The plot of
The Legend of Zorro |
Despite trying to keep his swashbuckling to a
minimum, a threat to California's pending statehood
causes the adventure-loving Alejandro de la Vega
(Banderas) -- and his wife, Elena (Zeta-Jones)
-- to take action. |
The
Legend of Zorro
Movie Review
|
Review by BRIAN
LOWRY:
Bigger, louder and considerably
less charming than its predecessor, long-deferred sequel
"The Legend of Zorro" gets by mostly on dazzling
stunt work and the pleasure of seeing its dashing and
glamorous leads back in cape and gown. Coming seven
years after "The Mask of Zorro," which generated
$251 million worldwide, pic also evokes unflattering
memories of the bloated bigscreen "The Wild Wild
West," and by introducing a kid into the swashbuckling
at times risks devolving into outright silliness. Still,
there are enough crowd-pleasing moments amid the frenetic
action -- coupled with goodwill toward the 1998 adventure
-- to carve out plenty of dollar signs internationally.Picking
up in 1850, the people of California are "poor
and desperate," hoping that a charismatic action
hero can help rescue them. In short, nothing much has
changed.Eager to become the 31st U.S. state through
one of those special elections for which Californians
are renowned, Don Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio BanderasAntonio
Banderas) leaps into battle as the masked hero Zorro
to thwart an attempt to steal the ballots, in the movie's
first and best sequence..more..
Review By Scott
Rosenberg:
It’s nice to see
that even in a western set in Civil War times, Hollywood
has found a way for things to go boom.The screenwriters
for “The Legend of Zorro” have concocted
a way to introduce big explosives into a world where
people are riding on horseback and, if my memory of
Civil War history is correct, the biggest artillery
of the time was simple, large, cylindrical metal balls
hurled out of a cannon.“The Legend of Zorro”
picks up some years after “The Mask of Zorro.”
Zorro, aka Don Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio Banderas),
and Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) have wed and procreated,
creating a rambunctious youngster, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso),
who doesn’t know his parents’ secret.Set
during the period when California is on the verge of
becoming part of the United States, Zorro must combat
those who seek to stop the addition, including some
truly grizzly outlaws who make for some prototypical
film villains. While that’s happening, Elena divorces
him and starts shacking up with the French aristocrat,
Armand (Rufus Sewell). That only helps to awaken the
fury residing within Alejandro..More..
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